


Worry

by Slutty_Merlin



Series: Gas Station AU [3]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: I'm Bad At Titles, Niles is best boi, Niles is very very gay for Gavin, Oops, Protective Big Brother Niles, RK900 is Niles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 20:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15759180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Slutty_Merlin/pseuds/Slutty_Merlin
Summary: Niles constantly worries about the people in his life.





	Worry

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all wanted more protective big bro Niles, I give you more protective big bro Niles. Also, a very very gay Niles.  
> This is basically the first two fics combined in Niles' perspective I'm not sorry.

Niles never particularly liked the fact that his nineteen year old brother, eighteen at the time he was hired, worked overnights at a shady looking gas station, by himself. It’s fine, Connor tells him, nothing’s gonna happen, Connor insists. Besides, his boss is great and the other, new overnight guy they hired after the last one stole some stuff is  _totally_ Niles’ type.

Which, isn’t incorrect, but that’s not the point. He just didn’t like the fact that Connor was alone all night long, and then, after working nine hours, had to drive himself home at rush hour, because Niles had to be at work by the time Connor’s shift was ending. It just…didn’t sit right with him. So he stopped in every morning under the guise of grabbing a coffee to check up on him. It annoys Connor endlessly, he knows, but worrying is in his nature.

And then, the idiot gets caught speeding on his way home. Whatever, it happens to everyone at least once, and he was probably tired, ready to go home and get some sleep, fine. But there was an error in the system, and Connor, his sweet, innocent, all too trusting baby brother got carted off to jail. That’s not what Niles was angry about, however. _Oh no_ , what he was angry about, was that the little shit used his phone call on _Hank_ rather than Niles. He prioritized his _boss_ over his _brother_.

Niles had been worried _sick_ when he got home, only to see that Connor wasn’t there. He had frantically called around, called his friends, called Connor’s phone, had called the hospital even. Nobody had seen him, his phone went straight to voicemail, and there were no John Does at the hospital matching his description, and the only Connor Davis was an elderly man.

And when he’d called Hank, all the store manager had said was,

“Wait, he called me instead of you? Er…I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the kid got arrested this morning.”

“What the fuck for!?” Niles had demanded.

“Fuck if I know. He’d just mumbled something about it being some kind of mistake or something.”

Lo and behold, Connor called him, just as he was getting off the phone with Hank. Relief floods through Niles as his little brother sheepishly asks him to pick him up.

But through that relief, Niles is downright _pissed_. He’d been so fucking worried all day. And Connor had called Hank instead of him?

“…are you mad?” Connor asks as they get in the car. Nines says nothing, which is answer enough. “I…I’m sorry.”

“I could have called Hank for you. Why didn’t you call me first?” Niles can’t keep the bite out of his tone.

“I thought you’d be angry.”

“I’m angrier now than I would’ve been if you’d called me in the first place!” Niles snaps back. “I don’t care about a speeding ticket Connor, and they were the ones that fucked up.” Niles sighs. “I was worried sick about you, Connor. I’d thought you’d gotten…” he can’t quite get the word “hurt” out, much less “killed”.

If Connor knew how many cases crossed his desk, detailing young boys _just like him_ , finding themselves in situations that ultimately ended in their demise…Niles shudders to think of his kid brother, dead, in the bottom of the river, or in some abandoned house, awaiting discovery. It’s an acute fear he feels every time a defendant walks free, smirking at Niles like they _know_.

“Niles…” Connor says softly. When Niles chances a look over, Connor is giving him those damned puppy-dog eyes.

Not. Fair.

“I’m sorry…”

Niles hesitates. He sighs.

“It’s fine, Connor. Scare me like that again, though, and I’ll kill you myself.” he grumbles. Connor immediately brightens, seemingly just happy that Niles is willing to forgive him.

(As if he’s not Niles’ whole world)

“Oh, and, Hank told me to go ahead and take the week off.” Connor shrugs, smiles blindingly at him. “Maybe we can do something for once.”

Smiling softly, Niles reaches over to ruffle his curls.

“Maybe.”

 

***

 

A few days later, as they sit on the couch to watch movies, Connor’s dog snoring softly at their feet, Connor’s eyes widen suddenly.

“Shit. What time is it?” he asks.

“Just after eleven, why?” Niles looks over to see Connor checking his phone.

“Crap. I don’t have Gavin in my contacts. Can you check up on him for me, please? I have this crackhead regular that comes in to pay for gas and then makes up some story about how she needs change back for it. Obviously, she’s lying, but she can get testy and then threaten to call corporate if you don’t give her what she wants.”

“…are you saying you get robbed every day?”

“Not every day, no. She comes in every Wednesday and like. Ambles around the store for half an hour cause she’s probably coked out of her mind. She doesn’t _always_ demand change back, only when she doesn’t have enough money to buy her substances.” Connor shrugs. “But in all seriousness, she’s an asshole regardless, even when she’s not lying about needing change back.”

Niles shrugs. He’s got nothing to lose. Besides, he gets to see Gavin a little early, this way. It’s amusing when he tries to flirt and even more so when he doesn’t realize Niles is flirting back.

“Yeah, sure. Not changing out of my pajamas though.” he gets up, carefully stepping over the dog, accidentally disturbing the black cat on the back of the couch. “Sorry, Ace.” he murmurs. “Do you want me to pick anything up for you while I’m there, Connor?”

“Nah.” Connor shrugs. He grabs the keys off the coffee table and tosses them over.

“Alright. See you in a few.”

He’s…not quite sure what he expects to see. He knows, from what he’s been told, that Gavin has a temper on him. So he’s not exactly prepared to see him the way he does. Hair mussed, still drying tear tracks on his flushed face.

“Hey there- oh! Hey, Niles.” his eyes are still puffy. “Not that I’m not happy to see my favorite regular, but what are you doing here so early? Or, well, late, I guess, for you.”

“Connor asked me to check on you. He forgot to tell you about the drug addict that comes in every Wednesday and kicks up a fuss about nonexistent change.”

Gavin nods, lips pressed close together.

“Yeah, she uh.” He clears his throat. “She was interesting.”

“Oof, already met her, huh?” Niles offers a sympathetic smile. “Connor tells me she can be a downright nightmare.”

“That’s one way of putting it.” any attempts a being cool and collected about it are overshadowed by his voice crack. The protective side of Niles rears its head yet again as he knits his brows together, stepping up to the counter.

“You alright, Gavin?”

“Oh, me? I’m peachy.” so, horrible then. “After the tweaker, came your classic middle aged white man, so that’s great. Also, the windows are fogged up so I’ve got that horror movie aspect too.” his voice quavers like he’s about to start crying, probably because he is, going by the tears in his eyes. “It’s fine, everything’s fine.”

When he goes to say something more, he only manages a garbled sound before he just completely loses his shit. He mumbles out a weak apology as he slaps one hand down on the counter, the other scrubbing the tears away to no avail.

Softly, Niles places a hand on top of Gavin’s, softly calling his name to gently grab his attention. He offers a small smile, gestures him over.

“It’s okay. Come here.”

Gavin seems to hesitate before walking around the counter, allowing Niles to pull him into a hug. It’s weirdly…intimate. Gavin’s arms are curled into his chest, face pressed into Niles’ as he allows himself to cry, tears soaking Niles’ thin t-shirt. Niles can’t help but rub his back in a soothing gesture.

“Wanna step outside with me, get some air?” Niles offers. “The parking lot is empty so you won’t have to worry about getting customers.”

Gavin nods, pulls away while whispering his thanks. He leads the way outside, lighting up a cigarette as soon as he’s able.

He looks good like this, Niles thinks. The lighting outside is shoddy at best, but every time Gavin takes a drag, the cherry of the cigarette bathes his face in a soft, reddish orange glow.

When the building settles suddenly, Gavin flinches, grabbing onto Niles’ arm. Frankly, it’s adorable. Niles can’t help the chuckle that bubbles out of his throat.

“Relax, Gavin. It’s just the building settling.”

Clearly embarrassed, Gavin lets go of him, mumbling another apology.

 _‘God, you’re cute.’_ Niles wants to say.

He doesn’t.

Gavin finishes his cigarette too quickly for it to be safe, flicking the butt away when he’s done.

“Feel better?”

“Yeah.” Gavin nods. “A lot. Thank you, I…I really appreciate it.”

Niles surprises even himself when he leans down and presses a kiss to Gavin’s temple, mumbling his farewell. He almost misses Gavin’s blush.

When he gets home, Connor looks up from the tv.

“How’d it go?” he asks.

“He definitely lost his shit.” Niles answers. Connor grimaces.

“Oof, poor guy. He okay?”

“Yeah, he’ll be alright. Probably just needed a minute to settle down.” Niles shrugs. “I’m gonna go to bed. Probably gonna work from home tomorrow. You gonna stay up?”

“Nah. Don’t see a point in staying up till eight in the morning when I have the week off.” Connor shrugs. On his way by, Niles ruffles his hair.

“Night, kiddo.”

“Night.”

In the morning, he asks Connor to deliver a note, and the kid smirks at him like he _knows_. He probably does. Oh well.

 

***

 

In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have surprised Gavin with last minute concert tickets. Nobody, literally nobody, was willing to take his shift and work an overnight.

Except for Connor.

I work overnights anyway, Connor tells him, Hank can’t take the shift this time, it’s his weekend with Cole, Connor tells him.

Honestly, Niles thinks, it’s his own damn fault. He was the one to buy tickets to a band Connor doesn’t even like (he’ll never understand how Connor likes heavy metal), and he was the one who asked Gavin. And Gavin had begged Connor to take his shift, and then begged Niles not to be mad at him.

(As if he could ever really be mad at Gavin)

He can’t quite shake the feeling that something bad might happen while Connor was working. He rarely worked Saturdays, only during the school year when Hank switched the schedules around so Connor could focus on his studies. Nothing had happened before, but, even as he tries to enjoy the concert, he has this feeling in the pit of his stomach like something is going to go wrong.

“Hey, thanks for like, taking me.” Gavin is telling him. “I had a really nice time.”

Niles breaks out of his thoughts and smiles down at him.

“I did too. Thanks for coming with me.” He lightly squeezes the hand linked with his own, as they head to the car. Once buckled in and ready to go, Niles turns to him. “So, I was thinking. Did you want to come by my place for a drink, or something? Connor won’t be home, so…”

“Why, Mr. Davis.” Gavin smirks, Niles chuckling as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Are you trying to get me drunk and pliable?” Niles merely smirks at him, leaning over to nip at his ear, chuckling again when he’s rewarded with a yelp.

“I just might be,” he teases, turning his attention back to the road. “But in all seriousness, would you maybe want to hang out a bit more?”

“Love to.” Gavin grins at him. “Now please focus on driving, you nearly killed us with that stunt back there. You’re a lawyer, aren’t you supposed to be responsible?” Niles merely smiles and offers a shrug.

“I reserve the right to be reckless sometimes.”

“Fair enough.” Gavin chuckles. “Oh! Hey, would you mind stopping at my store on our way back? I’m almost out of cigarettes. Plus it gives you an excuse to check on Connor like I know you’ve been itching to.”

“He stopped answering my texts…” Niles murmurs in excuse.

“I’m sure he’s fine.” Gavin offers, shrugging. Niles, reminded of his dread from earlier, tries to believe it.

He focuses on driving, trying hard not to let the anxiety take over again. Everything is fine, Connor is fine, he’s-

Niles’ heart drops when he turns the corner, onto the street where the store is. It’s swarming with cops. He can just barely make out Hank talking to one of the officers, the silhouette of his son asleep in the backseat of his car.

Panic grips his heart when he doesn’t immediately see Connor, and he all but whips into the next parking lot over, nearly forgetting to unlock his seatbelt before getting out. A million scenarios play through his mind, each worse than the last, and he forces back the tears threatening to spill over.

It’s Gavin that points him out. He sits in the back of an ambulance, clutching his shoulder as he speaks to an officer. Niles’ relief is short lived, overshadowed by his concern for Connor’s well being, by his need to be _right there_.

“Connor!” Gavin calls. An officer pushes him back before he can cross the tape. “Hey, asshole, let me through!”

“That’s my brother over there, let me see him!” Niles pleads, but the officer is resolute. The one previously talking to Connor makes his way over, coaxes the other to let them through. With a scowl, the first officer- Clark, Niles notes- lifts the tape for them.

Niles all but sprints to his baby brother. He’s vaguely aware of Gavin also saying something as he demands,

“Connor, what the hell!?” Connor’s shoulder is bandaged up, he’s not wearing a shirt even though it’s  _way_ too cold for that. He looks utterly exhausted.

“It’s just a graze.” Connor tells him softly.

Niles overhears one of the officers talking about an attempted robbery. Immediately, he thinks he has a pretty good idea of what happened.

“Connor, if I find out you tried to play hero, so help me-,”

“I didn’t.” Connor interrupts, eyes downcast. He’s shaking like a leaf. “I just kept fumbling the safe code.”

He’s definitely lying, Niles knows. But as he looks into Connor’s eyes, sees the fear still present there, as Connor trembles with a mixture of the cold and the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Niles finds that he can’t be angry. Instead, he reaches forward, grabs Connor by the good shoulder, and hauls him into a hug, murmuring,

“You scared the hell out of me.”

Connor grips at his shirt, and almost suddenly, he’s sobbing, no doubt scared out of his mind still, seeking comfort from Niles. The elder Davis is suddenly reminded of when they were kids, and Connor would sneak into his bed after a nightmare, or hold on tight to him during a storm.

“You’re alright, Connor.” he murmurs, much like he did back then. “You’re okay.” Gavin even makes an awkward attempt at comforting him, patting his back, but clearly uncomfortable. A for effort, at least.

Slowly, Connor gets a hold of himself, pulling away to wipe his eyes. Hank comes over then, offering a small smile as he tells Connor that he’s just glad he’s okay.

“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” Hank asks him quietly as Connor scrolls through the group chat with his friends, his phone no doubt blowing up.

“Yeah, sure.” Niles follows him out of earshot.

“So, I totally understand if you don’t want him working here anymore.” Hank says. “But I _promise_ you, nothing like this has happened before, and I’ll take extra measure to make sure that it won’t happen again, and- just, please don’t make him quit.” Niles takes a good look at Hank a s he speaks. The dark circles under his eyes, the slumped shoulders. Not only is his son still young, but he’s trying his hardest to keep this store afloat with only six employees, seven if he includes himself. He’s the only manager, at least that’s what Connor told him. The man is way over stressed.

“Hank.” Niles smiles gently at him. He knows stress. He was still in law school when he got custody of a young Connor when their parents suddenly died. “I’m not gonna make him quit.” Hank visibly sags in relief. “He’s nineteen, and, while he’s still just a kid, I really can’t _make_ him do anything, y’know? Even if I could, he’s stubborn as hell. Besides, he really likes working here, and I’d hate to deprive him of that.” Hank arches an incredulous brow at him.

“Really?”

“Oh, yeah. He never shuts up about how much he loves his regulars, or how much he admires you, Hank.”

Hank doesn’t seem to know what to say to that.

 

It’s an eternity before they let Connor go home. Niles and Gavin are both holding back yawns every couple of seconds. It’s a wonder Niles doesn’t crash the car on the way home.

When he gets in the door, he makes a beeline for the liquor cabinet, mixing three drinks and holding back a smile at the look of surprise on Connor’s face.

“You’re…letting me drink?” he asks. Niles shrugs.

“Just this once. You seem like you need it.”

It’s a quiet, easy end to the night. They go to bed right after they empty their cups. And if Gavin finds it weird that Connor crawls into bed with them after an hour, he says nothing about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Twitter! [ @Kaits_Corner ](https://twitter.com/Kaits_Corner)  
> Tumblr is good too. [ @kaitscorner ](https://kaitscorner.tumblr.com/)


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